Meagan Lawler on Embracing Elderhood

Dr. Meagan Lawler, human sciences faculty, will talk on Embracing Elderhood at the Lake Oswego Adult Community Center on March 13, 2016.

Excerpt from an article by Cliff Newell in the Lake Oswego Review:

Lake Oswego’s Adult Community Center will shed new light on the aging process March 13 with a special program called Embracing Elderhood.

The event will feature two of the top experts in their fields: Tony Borcich of Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon will offer hope to caregivers of people living with Parkinson’s disease and other dementia-related illnesses, while Dr. Meagan Lawler of Marylhurst University will talk about how often the common wisdom about aging is simply wrong.

“Contrary to popular belief, mental ability does not decline as you grow older,” Lawler says. “There is a great misconception about this. The brain changes, but it doesn’t decline until you reach your 80s. Your mind becomes richer, deeper and your judgment improves. Your speed lessens, but the other things improve.”

Berta Dermann, the Adult Community Center’s programming director, says that’s one of the key messages of the Embracing Elderhood seminar — that “there are positive contributions that older people can make to society.”

Lawler says she believes elderhood can actually be a healing force in society.

“The impact, we hope, will be a less impatient, less reactionary society,” Lawler says. “Maybe we can become a more tolerant society.”

Admission to Embracing Elderhood is free and refreshments will be served, but reservations are required. For more information, call 503.635.3758. The Adult Community Center is located at 505 G Ave. in Lake Oswego.

Meagan Lawler is a faculty member in the Department of Human Sciences and earned a Certificate in Gerontology at Marylhurst. She is the executive director of Hawthorne Gardens Assisted Living & Memory Care and serves on the board of the Oregon Gerontological Association.